21 Interesting Facts About Uganda You’ve Never Heard Before

Uganda is an Eastern African country. The country has a very rich wildlife with well developed and managed tourist infrastructures. Wildlife in Uganda has nearly 1061 different species of birds, mountain gorillas, chimpanzee etc. Uganda can be a perfect holiday spot for those who like to travel in a tropical climate. Apart from various wildlife species, there are some interesting facts about Uganda as a country that is worth noting.

The official national language of Uganda is English, but languages like Arabic, Swahili, Ganda are also used. It has nearly 1/3rd Christian population and the same number of Protestants. The other major religions in Uganda are Muslim and indigenous beliefs otherwise known as African traditional religion (ATR). Some more interesting Uganda facts are listed below:

Interesting Uganda Facts You Need To Know

1. Very Good Hospitality: – Ugandans are known for their hospitality and style of welcoming guests. You should go to the village area of Uganda to see how warmly they welcome you. The people and especially the children will start screaming with joy when they see guests, they will hug you and give you a handshake.

2. Best Tourist Location of 2012: The lonely plan selected Uganda as the best tourist attraction country in 2012. The reports stated that nearly 1 million tourists across the world visit Uganda every year.

3. Tree Loving Nation: – There is a rule in Uganda regarding cutting of trees. The rule is, if you cut one tree, then you will need to plant three trees. Well, you may find this rule quite weird but this rule is really present in Uganda.

4. One of The Best Bananas, Pineapples And Avocados Producing Country: – Banana is a very famous fruit in Uganda. People make various types of recipes from a banana. You can even get wine produced from a banana.

5. Home of Gorillas: – The study stated that there are just 750 mountain gorillas in the world. Being a home of these gorillas, you can see gorillas in Bwindi and Mhahinga National parks in Uganda. And these gorillas are present only in a few national parks in Uganda and some other African countries. These gorillas will not be found in any other zoo of the world.

6. Pearl of Africa: – Uganda was referred as a pearl of Africa by Winston Churchill because of its magnificent beauty.

7. Low GDP: – As Uganda is one of the poorest countries, the economic condition of many people in the country is not stable. A study has stated that nearly half of the population in the country survives on less than a dollar every day but the people are very happy and cheerful.

8. People Love Bicycle: – Ugandan people love using bicycles.

9. Huge Amount of Alcohol Consumption: – Uganda has been ranked as one of the biggest alcohol consuming nation in the world. Despite poverty, people consume alcohol a lot here.

10. The Youngest Country In The World: an astonishing fact is that nearly 50% population in Uganda is under the age of 14. With such low age, it is world’s youngest country. The average age of Ugandan’s is just 50 to 60 years.

More Fun Facts About Uganda

11. In terms of size, Uganda has the same size as Oregon State but comparatively, there is a very wide difference in the population with Uganda having a population of 34.5 million and Oregon having a population of mere 3,871,859

12. There are 2 different dry seasons in Uganda: between December and February and between June and August every year. The average temperature is about 26 degrees centigrade, with a maximum of 18-35 degrees and a minimum of 8-23 degrees depending on the part of the country. Rainfall ranges between 500mm to 2500 mm and the relative humidity is 70% -100%

13. If you are presented with a meal of pan-fried grasshoppers in Uganda, consider yourself a special guest because it is one of the favourite treats in the country

14. “I need to make a short call” is a sentence that is usually used to mean going to the restroom in Uganda

15. Uganda is the place to visit if you want to find the endangered mountain gorillas which are currently less than 750 in population in the world. They are found in these locations: the Bwindi National Park, Parc de volcanoes National park in Rwanda, and the Virunga in Congo.

16. About 10 million people in Uganda have mobile phones (approximately one-third of the population)

17. Matooke is a very popular food in Uganda and a favourite food for most people in the country. It is a plantain type of banana that is prepared by cooking in banana leaves.

18. Women are the civil engineers and contractors in Uganda because women do most of the work needed in building a mud house while the men only install the roof.

19. The favourite sport in Uganda is Soccer in which the country ranks number 16 in Africa and 73 in the world. The national sports team keeps on improving and are now a force to reckon with in Africa.

20. The Daily Monitor is a Ugandan newspaper that is published in English. It is one of the few newspapers in Uganda that publishes unbiased news report for latest news events in Uganda.

21. Boda-bodas is the name given to Ugandan motorcycle transport because they were formerly used to transport people across the “no-mans-land” ( a patch of land between the Kenya/Ugandan border posts.